Victoria Park Valley is Looking Good?

I am back with my weekly blog to discuss the "turf side" of things at Victoria Park East and the development updates for Victoria Park Valley.
As you would expect with such a mild winter the golf courses overwintered extremely well. We are experiencing early summer conditions in late winter! The picture on the left shows assistant superintendent John Watson mowing # 4 green on the Valley nine.
Our planned opening date for the Valley will be at the end of April. I will keep you posted - promise.

The crew kept busy most of the winter. They spent about 6 weeks tree trimming and clearing brush at the Valley. Some tree work was also done on Hole # 18 at the East course. The main purpose of this was to make the course more playable. With so many trees on some holes we want to make sure golfers will find their golf balls and can easily chip out. There were some holes where tree work was done to improve sunlight and air circulation.

Victoria Park East - The golf course fully opened for play March 16. Since then we have mowed the greens at least 6 times and the conditions are awesome for this time of year. We have been a bit overwhelmed with the nice weather and the amount of golfers. With the more seasonable weather this week the crew will have a chance to get caught up on their course opening duties. This includes cleaning up branches and debris, edging and working up the bunkers, and installing all the course accessories (ball washers, bunker rakes etc.) I want to thank all of you for coming out to play and for your patience getting the course ready.
Until next time

Finally Successful Seeding at the Valley

The fall is the perfect time to seed turfgrass. We have finally had great success with seeding difficult washouts and other areas that didn't take. The fall seed window is traditionally from August 15 to October 1. In my experience we seem to have more success after Labour day. The last four to five weeks has been just perfect with timely rains and moderate temperatures. The picture on the left is the driving range at Victoria Park Valley seeded three weeks ago. The picture below is the driving range today. Unbelievable catch! Limited germination will occur after October 20 depending on the temperature. See can stay dormant in the soil and germinate in spring. Good luck.

Aeration Time!

It is that time of year when many golf courses are aerating.
What is aeration?
Aeration is a cultural practice which opens up the surface of the turf. Aerators come in various sizes and can either pull a core or plug (core areation) or punch a hole in the turf with a solid tine. The main purpose of aeration is to relieve compacted soils and allow for better air exchange. Other major benefits are to change an undesirable rootzone (soil) by removing the cores and filling the holes with a desirable sand or sand mixture. Removing and controlling thatch (excessive organic matter) is another huge benefit to turfgrass. Aeration with small tines is often used to overseed areas. Aeration techniques frequency will differ depending on the turf grass area, existing soil types, existing problems, etc. For example a sports field will require more aeration than a home lawn.  Golf course putting greens will require different aeration techniques than fairways or tees.

At Victoria Park East we core aerate greens in late August and use solid tines in early July. We core aerate tees and fairways throughout the fall.

Most golf courses do not aerate enough according to research done by industry professionals. Aeration will always be a contentious issue on golf courses, especially on greens. I find communication is key.Most golfers understand it is a necessary evil and are quite understanding as long as sufficient notification is given and aeration coincides with the clubs calendar of events.
Thanks for your patience.
David

The Valley is Getting Sand Traps

This week is another big milestone at the Valley. We started building the sand traps. The sand traps were shaped last year and a drainline was brought into the bunker but that was it. The procedure this year is to excavate all the debris in the bunker,edge the bunker, line the bunker with silt which is free of stones (99%), install drain tile in the low spots in the bunker and fill with USGA spec. sand. The sand we are using is a cream coloured sand from Ohio, commonly referred to as "Ohio Sand". Our decision to use this sand was improve on the existing local brown sand currently at Victoria Park West.  I am sure our customers will appreciate the improved look and playability.

Until next time.

David

Topdressing Greens

Topdressing Greens is one of the most important cultural practices golf course superintendents can do to ensure smooth firm putting greens.  The procedure consists of spreading a light layer of sand or sand/peat combination on the putting green followed by brushing, matting or irrigation to incorporate the sand. The picture on the left shows a light layer of sand disappears after it is matted in.
Topdressing should be done every two to three weeks during the growing season. Some of the benefits of incorporating sand into the greens include diluting or preventing thatch from accumulating, smoothing out the surface by filling in bumps and depressions, and firming up the surface. Golfers may perceive this practice as an inconvenience but believe me the benefits are worth it. The best golf courses in the world all have a very regimented topdressing program.
Until next time.
David

I'm Back and It's Dry!

First of all I want to apologize for not posting a blog for one month! Combine a week's holidays, getting busy and some procrastination and here we are. What a difference three weeks make. We have not had significant rainfall in since the end of June and the turf is showing the stress. The picture on the left is Hole #2 at the East Course. The rough before the fairway receives no water from the irrigation system and has gone dormant. Under most circumstances the turf will go dormant for some time and bounce back when the rains return. The irrigation system has been working overtime to keep up with the demand. We have also been doing a lot of hand watering. If it doesn't rain soon most of the rough will go dormant and there will be visible dry spots on areas of the course that do get irrigated. Nothing replaces natural rainfall. The good thing is the water table is still quite high and there has been no talk about water restrictions. Yet.
Until next time,
David

 The Valley's only par 5 hole is the 8th hole on the A nine. It measures 519 yards from the back tee. There are two ponds one in front of the back deck shown in the picture and one past the first landing area. The construction company will need 3 to 4 days to prepare and seed the fwy. One of the reasons this fwy will take so long is because of all the stones.




The following pictures show the process of removing stones from the fairway.





Above shows how many stones before the rock rake.



Above shows the rock rake in process.


Above shows a closer look at the faiway before the rock rake and after. Hopefully the hole will be seeded by the end of the week.
Thanks
David